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NEW YORK – Big things are expected from Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco this season.

However, the 24 year old entered Thursday's game against the Mets at Citi Field riding an 0-for-22 hitless streak. He finally ended it with an RBI double in the third inning off the Mets' Noah Syndergaard. Then he added a line-drive home run over the left-field wall in the eighth inning for his third homer of the season. Franco finished 2 for 4 with a walk in the Phillies' 6-4 win.

Franco and the Phillies hope that's the start of a hot streak.

"Sometimes you get frustrated especially when you're 0 for 10, 0 for 13 and you hit the ball really good and somebody catches it ... but it's part of the game," Franco said. "I have to forget that kind of stuff."

Not even a month into the season, though, it's too early to panic about Franco's struggles in the No. 4 spot of Philadelphia's lineup. Here's three reasons why Phillies fans should not yet worry about Franco's offensive production.

1. He's hitting the ball hard

Franco has been putting good wood on balls, barreling up and delivering solid contact, a trend that continued Thursday.

While he might not have much to show for it in terms of his batting average and slugging percentage, Franco's hitting the ball hard.

Franco's average exit velocity in 2016 was 90.3 mph. Through 14 games this year, he's been hitting the ball consistently harder with an average exit velocity of 91.7 mph. That ranks 18th-best among all MLB hitters with at least 30 at-bats this season.

"That's why I'm still confident. That's why I have a lot of patience," Franco said. "If you put the ball in play and stroke the ball really good and hit it hard, you worry about stuff you can control."

The liner he ripped over Yoenis Cespedes' head for a double Thursday came off the bat at 103 mph. It was smoked, similarly to the ball he also ripped to left field Tuesday – a line out to Cespedes that goes for a hit 83 percent of the time and featured an exit velocity of 113 mph.

Part of Franco's poor numbers can be linked to not catching any breaks.

Franco's batting average on balls in play is .136, which ranks 191st out of 194 qualified players. The league BABIP average in 2017 is currently .294 while in 2016 it was .305.

So, he's been incredibly unlucky.

A BABIP that low is difficult to sustain over a 162-game season.

The White Sox's Todd Frazier posted the worst BABIP last year at .236. A 100-point improvement would be a massive help, and it should increase even more than that as his career average BABIP sits at .269. As long as Franco's frustrations don't cause him to change what he's been doing at the plate, the advanced numbers show he's on the right track even if luck isn't on his side right now.

3. He's drawing more walks with better approach

So far, Franco's work with hitting coach Matt Stairs is paying off with a better approach at the plate.

He admitted before spring training that he often stepped into the batter's box last year without a plan. His renewed focus and better strategy has already paid dividends.

Franco's walk rate has increased from last year – from 6.3 percent to 8.3 percent – and has lowered his strikeout rate – 16.8 percent to 15 percent – leading to better overall at-bats. He's also seeing 3.93 pitches-per-plate appearance this season after averaging 3.56 P/PA from 2014-16. Those are all positive trends.

The combination of creating strong contact and a more patient approach, while dealing with bad luck, has Franco in position to break out and become the big hitter in the middle of the order that the Phillies need.